DUBLIN: The 14th edition of the Irish Maritime Transport Economist, a report produced by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) on Ireland’s maritime freight industry, was launched in the Gibson Hotel, Dublin.
The report shows that in 2016, total port traffic increased by 2%, with growth driven predominantly by unitised trade, Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) and Lift-on/Lift-off (LoLo) traffic, both of which grew by 7% in 2016. The report also highlights an 11% increase in the number of cruise vessel calls to Irish ports, with 274 calls recorded in 2016, while passenger numbers between the island of Ireland, Great Britain and continental Europe declined by 2.6% to 4.3 million passengers in 2016.
On average, a 2% increase in total port traffic recorded in 2016, 7% increase in RoRo traffic to 1,073,403 freight units, 7% increase in LoLo traffic to 916,852 TEUs, 5% decline in total bulk traffic, driven by reduced demand for oil, coal and other bulk commodities, Overall passenger traffic declined 2.6% in 2016, but 11% increase in cruise vessel calls recorded
The growth recorded in unitized trade, which is closely correlated with consumer demand, points to increased consumer confidence in the Irish economy in 2016. With over 80% of RoRo traffic moving between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, the growth in RoRo traffic recorded in 2016 is also a reliable proxy for the performance of trade between both economies, despite economic and political uncertainty in 2016.
In contrast, total bulk traffic, comprising dry bulk, liquid bulk and break bulk, fell by 5% in 2016 to 28.5 million tons. Dry bulk volumes fell by 1% to 15.8 million tons and liquid bulk volumes fell by 9% to 11.3 million tons in 2016, with demand for commodities in these categories such as animal feeds, fertilizer, coal and oil affected by relatively warm and dry weather conditions. Break bulk traffic fell by 5% to 1.4 million tons, mainly driven by a 40% decrease in shipment of refuse derived fuel. When these shipments are excluded, break bulk traffic grew by 2% in 2016, with increases recorded in the shipment of commodities such as cement, which underpin growth in the Irish construction sector.
